Tag Archives: seiyuu

Tomoyo Kurosawa is a young voice actress who has already landed several prominent anime voice roles. She’s been acting in commercials, dramas, and stage plays since the age of 3, she also plays the voice of Sylphy in Amagi Brilliant Park, Itsuki in Yuki Yuna is a Hero, Miria in Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, and the lead role of Kumiko in Kyoto Animation’s Sound! Euphonium.

This interview was conducted by Raymond Hu and Michael Huang, and is edited for clarity.

What are the differences between voice acting and other types of acting?

When I was acting in person, it was more natural. But when I started voice acting, I had to train myself physically and pay attention to breathing and use of space.

Who is your favorite seiyuu, and why?

Miki Shinichiro, famous for Kojiro in Pokemon. He’s very passionate and I learned so much about voice acting from him.

How often do you watch anime and play games?

I don’t have much chance to watch anime, other than my own shows, but Katanagatari made a strong impression on me.

(SPOILERS FOR YUKI YUNA) When you were in Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, you voiced a character, Itsuki, who later lost her voice. How do you voice a character like that?

Up to episode 5, I did have lines, but after that my character couldn’t talk. In episode 9 there was a flashback scene, but there were three weeks total with no lines. Still, the character I played affected the other characters and encouraged them. I treated the role as I would with any other usually.

Kumiko and Reina from Sound! Euphonium (HT: Gar Gar Stegosaurus)

What do you think about the Japanese cultural phenomenon that encourages very intimate relationships between girls from middle school to junior college?*

Sound Euphonium features good friendships between girls, but it’s not about romantic relationships. But it shows girls’ complicated emotions and frustrations that they can’t really express in middle school. It’s characteristic of puberty. It looks like romance, but it’s not really about that. It just symbolizes adolescent life.

Did you ever have any similar experiences like that in Euphonium?

I understand the feeling of being best friends, sympathizing and crying with them.

[Michael] How about with music? Did you ever play music and play in high school band?

I played the guitar in high school.

[Michael] Do you still play?

I practice euphonium now for the anime event!

[Michael] Did you ever have to go through an audition that is as hard as the ones shown in Sound: Euphonium?

For voice acting auditions, they listened to a recording to decide, but I’ve been to theater auditions where I had to be in a studio for four days and a workshop for one month.

What’s your earlier memory of acting? We know you started at three years old…what were you doing at the time?

I played a granddaughter of Tsugawa Masahiko on an NHK drama when I was three. I saw sugar candy and I started eating it!

*Note: In reference to some of the relationships depicted in Sound!: Euphonium; see this article on Gar Gar Stegosaurus for further analysis (SPOILER ALERT)

Yumiri Hanamori is a fresh young face on the voice acting scene. A 17-year old high school student, she has recently had breakout roles as Chiaya in The Rolling Girls and Uri-tan in Etotama. She will also be starring in an upcoming film in 2016, Garakowa -Restore the World-(ガラスの花と壊す世界).

Raymond Hu conducted the interview, which has been edited for clarity.

We saw on your Twitter bio that you call yourself a “yakitori based girl (焼き鳥系女子です).” Can you explain what you mean by that?

I really love yakitori, but it’s not really something that girls typically eat. It’s something you usually eat with beer or sake. Because I really love making people say “that’s weird,” I have this thing…I call myself that because I think people should love yakitori, no matter their age or gender.

What inspired you to begin seiyuu work?

When I was in middle school, I had a friend who told me that my voice sounded like an anime heroine’s. Back then I also really liked anime, and it was something I thought I’d like to do. They had a seiyuu audition and I applied for that, and that’s how I started.

Which anime character did your voice resemble?

I was in the tennis club, and the voice I was letting out when I played was like a fighting heroine’s. OOH!

You are still a high school student, so how do you balance between school and work?

At first, I was really just focusing on work and I didn’t concentrate much on schoolwork. But now I think balance things a bit better, and I will take the time on the train to review English vocabulary words or other things. I do a little at a time when I have a chance.

Studying is very important.

English is hard!

How do you prepare for your roles in anime, and who do you ask for guidance from?

When I’m prepping for a role, I find someone who is similar to that character and try to imitate the aura that person gives off. At first, I didn’t really have anybody to ask about these things, but now I have more friends who do the same work I do, and so I can ask them “how do you think I should do this character”?

Sailor Venus! I watched Sailor Moon when I was younger. You know how Usagi, the main character, is kind of clumsy and awkward? But Venus had long hair, and seemed like what a girl should be like–she has it together. I liked that about her when I was younger, and I still like her now.

Which seiyuu do you admire, and who would you like to work with in the future?

Junko Takeuchi, because I watched anime like Naruto and Inazuma Eleven ever since I was little, and I’ve always admired her since then.

Chiaya Misono from “Rolling Girls,” who was played by Yumiri Hanamori.

Talk about your experience working on The Rolling Girls. Any interesting things happen? (SPOILERS AHEAD)

At first, when I auditioned for this part, I didn’t know that the character was an alien. So I played her as a regular girl, not too young, but not too old. It was hard to find that balance and get into the character at first, but as the series went on I was able to get to know her a little better and put a little more of myself into it and play around a little bit–like the little noises that she makes.

[Michael] Have you become a fan of the Blue Hearts* since?

I’m a huge fan now!

What type of anime do you like, and why?

Action and battle anime. I like kids’ anime but also late-night anime like Psycho-Pass.

Do you prefer the fisrt or second season of Psycho-Pass?

Season 1!

What fashion brands do you like?

I like Liz Lisa and recently a brand called axesWe, which has girly frills, but not too much.

What do you think of non-Japanese fans in general?

We act in Japanese, so that overseas fans are able to enjoy our acting without fully understanding the language makes me really happy to go beyond borders in order to reach them.

*Note: most of the insert songs and OP/EDs in The Rolling Girls are covers of songs by the classic Japanese punk rock band, the Blue Hearts.

At the Kodansha USA panel yesterday, we asked company representative Dallas Middaugh whether, in light of reports that Kotono Mitsuishi would reprise her role as Usagi/Sailor Moon in the upcoming 2013 anime remake, any of the other original seiyuu from the 1990s anime would return to their roles.

Mr. Middaugh said that this was based on a mistranslation of Mitsuishi’s comments, and that while she would like to return to the role, she was not confirmed in it, nor has any of the casting been done for voices. The only confirmation was on the theme song.

I’m feeling itched to act as soon as possible.
But my enemy is not Dark Kingdom.
I was recklessly working at that time.

Based on our Japanese translator’s judgment, this entry appears to be in line with Mr. Middaugh’s assertion that she has only indicated a desire, not confirmation, to work on the series. Other news outlets, such as Anime News Network and io9, support this view. We thus believe that Mitsuishi-san is not yet confirmed as Usagi in Sailor Moon 2013.

Like this:

Veteran male seiyuu don’t generally get a lot of attention compared to their younger, female counterparts. We hope to change that a little here in our spotlight on Toshio Furukawa, the voice of Ataru Moroboshi (Urusei Yatsura), Piccolo (Dragonball Z), and Shin (Fist of the North Star).

Yuu Asakawa, Japanese voice actress (Motoko: Love Hina, Sakaki: Azumanga Daioh), talked to us at Anime Diet about her roles, the World Cup, and many other things. This was one of our most fun, relaxed interviews, and it turns out that Yuu (or Julia, as she calls herself) speaks decent English–so only half this interview is in Japanese. Her open and outgoing nature are on full dispaly in this video.

Ray is trying to offer her a gift of sorts near the beginning of the interview–that’s what she’s saying when she exclaims, “this is for me?” :) All in good fun!

Pacific Media Expo has announced that voice actress and singer Yukana, director Hiroyuki Tanaka, and character designer Takahiro Umehara will appear at the November 9-11 convention at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport in California. Yukana’s many roles have included Card Captor Sakura’s Meilin, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion’s C.C., My-HiME’s Mashiro, and Wedding Peach’s Yuri. Beyond her acting career, she recorded the theme songs for several anime including My-Otome, My-Otome Zwei, and Wedding Peach. Yukana started her career under her birth name Yukana Nogami, but she later shortened her stage name to just Yukana…

Ray’s take: A slow beginning to the week, but those who live in LA, another cute seiyuu for you guys to ogle…